Post by studentloandebt on Nov 26, 2018 19:29:42 GMT
This Resolution seeks to establish international law on maritime, nautical, and seafaring actions. This resolution may be up for discussion for 7 days. If it does not receive at least 2 endorsements before then, the proposal will be dropped. Due to the length of this resolution, DSAC members will be able to vote on which articles they support.
Article 1- Territorial Waters
Article 2- Internal Waters and Bays
Article 3- State Boundaries
Article 4- Passage In The Territorial Sea
Article 5- Exclusive Economic Zones
Article 1- Territorial Waters
- The sovereignty of a coastal State extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelago State, its archipelago waters, to an adjacent belt of sea, described as the territorial sea. This sovereignty extends to the air space over the territorial sea as well as to its bed and subsoil.
- Every State has the right to establish the range of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles straight and outward from their baseline.
- The baseline for measuring the extent of the territorial sea is the low-water line along the coast as marked on large-scale charts officially recognized by the coastal State.
- The drawing of straight baselines must not depart to any appreciable extent from the general direction of the coast, and the sea areas lying within the lines must be sufficiently closely linked to the land domain to be subject to the regime of internal waters.
- For the purpose of determining the limit of the territorial sea, the outermost permanent harbour-works which form an integral part of the harbour system are regarded as forming part of the coast. Off-shore installations and artificial islands shall not be considered as permanent harbour-works.
Roadsteads which are normally used for the loading, unloading and anchoring of ships, and which would otherwise be situated wholly or partly outside the outer limit of the territorial sea, are included in the territorial sea.
Article 2- Internal Waters and Bays
- Waters on the landward side of the baseline of the territorial sea form part of the internal waters of the State.
- If a river flows directly into the sea, the baseline shall be a straight line across the mouth of the river between points on the low-water line of its banks.
- A bay is a well-marked indent whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indent shall not, however, be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indent.
- The area of an indent is that lying between the low-water mark around the shore of the indentation and a line joining the low-water mark of its natural entrance points. Where, because of the presence of islands, an indent has more than one mouth, the semi-circle shall be drawn on a line as long as the sum total of the lengths of the lines across the different mouths. Islands within an indent shall be included as if they were part of the water area of the indentation.
- If the distance between the low-water marks of the natural entrance points of a bay does not exceed 24 nautical miles, a closing line may be drawn between these two low-water marks, and the waters enclosed thereby shall be considered as internal waters.
- Where the distance between the low-water marks of the natural entrance points of a bay exceeds 24 nautical miles, a straight baseline of 24 nautical miles shall be drawn within the bay in such a manner as to enclose the maximum area of water that is possible with a line of that length.
Article 3- State Boundaries
- The system of straight baselines may not be applied by a State in such a manner as to cut off the territorial sea of another State from the high seas or an exclusive economic zone.
- Where the coasts of two States are opposite or adjacent to each other, neither of the two States is entitled, failing agreement between them to the contrary, to extend its territorial sea beyond the median line every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points on the baselines from which the limit of the territorial seas of each of the two States is measured.
Article 4- Passage In The Territorial Sea
- Subject to this Convention, ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.
- Passage shall be continuous and expeditious. However, passage includes stopping and anchoring, but only in so far as the same are incidental to ordinary navigation or are rendered necessary by force majeure or distress or for the purpose of rendering assistance to persons, ships or aircraft in danger or distress.
- Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State.
- Passage of a foreign ship shall be considered to be prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State if in the territorial sea it engages in any of the following activities:
(a) any threat or use of force against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of the coastal State, or in any other manner in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations;
(b) any exercise or practice with weapons of any kind;
(c) any act aimed at collecting information to the prejudice of the defense or security of the coastal State;
(d) any act of propaganda aimed at affecting the defense or security of the coastal State;
(e) the launching, landing or taking on board of any aircraft or military device;
(f) the loading or unloading of any commodity, currency or person contrary to the customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations of the coastal State;
(g) any act of willful and serious pollution contrary to this Convention;
(h) any fishing activities;
(i) the carrying out of research or survey activities;
(j) any act aimed at interfering with any systems of communication or any other facilities or installations of the coastal State;
(k) any other activity not having a direct bearing on passage. - In the territorial sea, submarines and other underwater vehicles are required to navigate on the surface and to show their flag.
- The coastal State may adopt laws and regulations, in conformity with the provisions of this Convention and other rules of international law, relating to innocent passage through the territorial sea, in respect of all or any of the following:
(a) the safety of navigation and the regulation of maritime traffic;
(b) the protection of navigational aids and facilities and other facilities or installations;
(c) the protection of cables and pipelines;
(d) the conservation of the living resources of the sea;
(e) the prevention of infringement of the fisheries laws and regulations of the coastal State;
(f) the preservation of the environment of the coastal State and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution thereof;
(g) marine scientific research and hydrographic surveys;
(h) the prevention of infringement of the customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations of the coastal State. - Foreign ships exercising the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea shall comply with all such laws and regulations and all generally accepted international regulations relating to the prevention of collisions at sea.
Article 5- Exclusive Economic Zones
- The Exclusive Economic Zone of a coastal State extends, beyond its land territory and internal waters and, in the case of an archipelago State, its archipelago waters, to an adjacent belt of sea, described as their exclusive economic zone.
Every State has the right to establish the range of its exclusive economic zone up to a limit not exceeding 200 nautical miles straight and outward from their baseline. - In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters adjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds.
- In the exclusive economic zone, the coastal State shall have the exclusive right to construct and to authorize and regulate the construction, operation, and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures
- Artificial islands, installations, and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the limit of the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone.
Article 6- International Waters
- International waters are open to all States, whether coastal or land-locked. Freedom of the high seas is exercised under the conditions laid down by this Convention and by other rules of international law. It comprises, inter alia, both for coastal and land-locked States; freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight, freedom to lay submarine cables and pipelines, freedom to construct artificial islands and other installations permitted under international law, freedom of fishing, and freedom of scientific research.
- No State may validly purport any part of international waters as being within their sovereignty.
- Every State, whether coastal or land-locked, has the right to sail ships flying its flag on the high seas.
- All craft and structures in international waters, including those privately owned, shall be registered with the government of a DSAC member state. While in international waters, all craft and structures shall be considered under the legal jurisdiction of the nation they are registered to, and in these places that nation’s laws shall apply.
- All States are entitled to lay submarine cables and pipelines on the bed of the high seas beyond the continental shelf.
- All States have the right for their nationals to engage in fishing on the high seas